Flame and Thunder, Revamped
by BlazingMarcus
Summary: An Ionian Vastaya and his brother lost everything in the Noxian Invasion. They travel to Valoran to seek a new way of life. There, our protagonist will meet a certain bear. This is the story of Marcus, the Blaze of Ionia. Rated M for violence and future adult themes. Volibear x Vastaya Wolf-like OC [M/M] ship. Using current lore but keeping the Institute of War and my own changes.
1. Chapter I: The Newcomers

**Disclaimer: I do not own any League of Legends character, those belong to RiotGamesInc.**

**I do own my OC's, so don't use them in other stories without my permission or claim them as yours.**

**Enough boring talk. Let's begin, shall we?**

**Flame and Thunder**

**NOTE: **"People talking"

_ "__People's thoughts"_

**_ People talking by telepathy or dreaming_**

Chapter I: The newcomers

It was almost noon in the Institute of War. Summoners were spread across the large gardens, chatting, playing and doing other activities. Some champions were also there: Fizz was playing pranks to some summoners in the big fountain in front of the gates of the entrance; Ahri was surrounded by a cloud of fans -mostly males-, signing autographs. When the Sun reached its zenith, two figures covered by cowled robes that hid their faces entered the gardens through the gates, walking quietly towards the main building. One of them was about seven feet tall while the other had a child's height. The two individuals instantly caught the attention of Ahri and Fizz, as they could sense power in them. The strangers kept walking without stopping until they reached the entrance of the building. Ahri's lips curved into a little smirk, while Fizz lost his interest as fast as it had sparkled before.

The Great Hall was the largest hall in Runeterra: a room about sixty feet high and even wider. The two newcomers approached a large round wooden desk that sat in the middle of the room. An old human with a long white beard in a grey tunic was standing inside the counter in the shape of a circumference, his back turned to them as he was sorting papers inside some lockers. The strangers stopped at the counter and removed their cowls. The taller one was a young adult anthropomorphic wolf with slightly dark red fur and intense shining golden eyes. The shorter one was another anthropomorphic wolf, much younger and cub-like, and his fur color was a reddish brown. His eyes were emerald green, and gleamed with curiosity. The old man noticed their presence and turned around to face them. He scanned them with his tired but sharp eyes and then spoke politely.

"Greetings, strangers. Welcome to the Institute of War, how can I help you?"

"Greetings, sir. I am Marcus. I came with my brother Ethan." The bigger wolf said. His voice was somewhat deep pitched and remarkably silky.

"Hmmm..." the old man's face made a thoughtful expression. "Oh, yes, I remember your letter. You wish to become a champion in the League of Legends." He turned to the little wolf. "I assume you are Ethan, and since you possess some special capabilities, as your older brother told me, you want to be Marcus' summoner, is that correct?"

"Yes, sir." He muttered with his head lowered, just loud enough for the man to hear it.

"I am sorry, young master, but I am required to see proof of those skills in order to allow you to become a summoner and assign you your own room. It is the only way I can make an exception for an underage person. Since I have to take care of the paperwork of your brother's registration for now, you can stay in his new room until I contact you later today." Then, the receptionist gave them a key and indications to find Marcus' room before they left the Great Hall, heading upstairs.

Upon arriving to the second floor, they saw a long corridor to the right that had lots of doors aligned in both sides. Then the corridor continued outside the building and linked it with another one, like a bridge.

"Well, these are the summoners' rooms, and champions' rooms are there" Marcus said tilting his head slightly towards the other building. "Let's go and check out my room!" He said with a little excitement. His brother nodded and smiled.

While Marcus and Ethan walked through the corridor of the champion's building, his eyes met somebody's before walking past her. She let out a barely audible 'hmph' while drawing a smirk with her lips. The woman was a little shorter than him, her pale skin contrasted with her long black hair, gathered in a ponytail shaped like a string of bulbs. She wore glasses on top of her head, her ruby red eyes scanning him. She was wearing a dark greenish shirt and pants underneath a large red cape, tall brown boots and a pair of iron gauntlets. Marcus made sure to remember her face since she could be a champion, too.

They eventually arrived to the door of his room. It was a very simple room, but looked comfortable. The furniture consisted of a desk with four drawers on its left side and a desk chair, both under a wide window with plain white silk curtains. To the left of the desk was a bed -which Marcus eyed with anticipation due to being exhausted after the long trip- and to the right of the desk was a plain wooden closet and a full-length mirror. To their right was a door which led to the bathroom.

"Seems cozy enough to me." Marcus said with a content tone, then looked down at Ethan. "I hope yours won't be better than mine!" He stuck his tongue out.

"Hey!" The young wolf cried out, frowning up at his big brother.

The red wolf chuckled and petted Ethan's head. "I'm just kidding, boy. I actually hope they give you a better one. You deserve no less." He winked and smiled warmly. Ethan just stopped frowning and enjoyed the petting.

Marcus removed the robe he was wearing on top of his clothes and put it into the wardrobe, then approached the desk and saw a note written in a small piece of paper on it. Ethan sat on the bed. In short, the note welcomed him to the League of Legends and said that there was a welcome gift inside the first drawer of the desk. He opened it and found a sky blue sphere and another note next to it. _"This is a Sight Sphere. It __can be used__ to watch matches that are currently __taking place in each of the fields of battle dedicated to the League__. It also can give you information about the other champions."_

_"__That looks useful and interesting but now this seemingly soft bed has caught all my attention." The red lupine said with a tired chuckle._

He placed the sphere on the desk and let his body lie on the surprisingly comfortable bed. He fell soon asleep along with Ethan, who had lied on a spot next to him.

**Vayne's POV**

(That afternoon)

I was sure the tall one was a new champion. I could sense some kind of power in him… Not sure about the short one. After I walked past those two beast-men in the corridor, I made my way downstairs to the hall of the champions' building, and then inside the Cantina. I joined my usual table where the girls were sitting and having coffee and tea. Miss Fortune was chatting and laughing loudly with Sivir, while Nidalee was listening to Ahri, who was probably telling her something uninteresting -judging by the look of boredom on Nidalee's face- as usual.

Everyone except Ahri stopped talking to say 'hello' for a second, and were about to resume their conversations, but since I stood there, they looked confused and Ahri shut up, waved at me and waited to know what was up.

"A mysterious stranger joined the League." I smirked.

I paused again, to enjoy their glares of impatience "Spit it out, come on!" Miss Fortune said a little annoyed. I continued.

"A race I've only read about in ancient Ionian books. A wolf-man with red fur and golden eyes. If I hadn't seen it myself I wouldn't have believed they existed." I said crossing my arms over my chest. They all looked at each other with curiosity. Ahri asked if he was hot and I rolled my eyes in exasperation.

**Marcus' P****O****V**

Someone knocked the door of my room. Ethan also woke up stretching and whining. I got up and looked through the window to see the sky. The sun was beginning to set as the sky had a beautiful orange color, so I figured we slept at least six hours. More knocking at my door.

"I'm coming!" I said loudly walking towards the door.

When I opened it I saw the same old man that welcomed me and my brother at the hall. He bowed his face and spoke.

"Master Marcus, I shall let you know that your first practice match will take place in the Summoner's Rift tomorrow in the morning. I beg you to be there in time. You will have to head to the summoning room, where the rest of the champions and summoners will attend as well. It is located to the left of the reception desk we spoke at earlier today." He informed me with a tone of respect that I wasn't used to.

I nodded. "I will be there, thanks".

He spoke again "Speaking of which; Young master Ethan, the test for your summoning skills is ready. If you are so kind to follow me, please, we shall proceed."

Ethan yawned "Yes, sir. Bye, brother." He waved at me and I waved back. "Good luck, I know you don't need it though." I told him, which caused him to giggle. They left the room and I sat on my chair.

"Hmm_, maybe I should check the Sight Sphere to learn about the other champions, it would be useful for my first match"_ I thought. The only thought of 'first match' made me shiver. I grabbed the blue sphere and began searching for information about the champions.

After a while, I began to feel sleepy, I was still tired and wasn't hungry at all, so I left the sphere on the desk and instead of going downstairs to have dinner, I laid down on the bed and fell asleep again quickly.

(The next day, early in the morning)

I woke up feeling full of energy and thought of Ethan, I assumed he'd passed his test since he didn't come back to sleep with me. Good, we were both installed at last.

I got up and looked at myself in the mirror. I saw the worry about the match in my eyes, I had to admit that. But my fluffy red tail was wagging from my excitement. I took a deep breath to try to pull myself together and thought of the immense amount of training I've done throughout my whole life. That helped calm myself down, if only just a bit. Eventually I headed downstairs to the Cantina; I learned from the Sight Sphere that it was the place destined for the champions to eat. Kind of like a cafeteria, but way larger.

When I entered the Cantina, it was almost empty. There were only three other people besides me. The bartender, who was endlessly cleaning an already clean glass mug with a dish towel, and the other two present were sitting at one edge of the bar, talking to each other in a low voice, so I couldn't hear what they said.

One of them was a small fish-like blue creature with big eyes and a wide mouth. It looked like he was teasing his partner. Said person was a middle-aged man with messy short black hair, a moustache and a beard and he was smoking a cigar.

I walked towards the counter and ordered a small sandwich for breakfast. After paying I immediately walked out of the Cantina while eating it quickly. It was the moment to meet my teammates at the summoning room, so I headed directly to the Great Hall.

The Great Hall was crowded at the moment, -I guess because matches usually start around this time everyday- but I made my way through the mass of people toward the summoning room.

It was a small room in a dim blue lighting. There were ten people besides me: five of them were sitting on a long stone bench to my left, and opposite of them were four people sitting on another stone bench. Next to those four people, closer to me, stood a short figure covered in a blue robe with a hood hiding their face. They all had noticed me and turned to look at me as I entered the room. They still couldn't see me clearly as I was far enough from the source of light: a small candle trapped inside a blue stained glass sphere that was magically floating in the middle of the room.

The person that was standing a few more steps to my right turned his head towards me and I could notice two gleaming emerald eyes staring at me. I recognized him immediately. I could feel that Ethan smiled under the blue hood, but he didn't move from his place. Then I took a step forward out of the darkness and the dim blue light revealed my body to the expectant people.

And jaws dropped.

I have a strong build. Muscled, but kept it athletic enough. I was wearing very simple clothing: a soft short brown leather vest, which was open showing my bare fuzzy muscled chest. The red color in the area of my abdomen was lighter. Hanging from my neck, a gold chain held an upside down ornate triangle made of gold with an emerald in the center. I inherited it from my father, who told me when I was a child that it was a magic charm which gives strength to its owner and protects them from the evil. I was also wearing shorts made of the same material than the vest. I always kept my lupine-like feet bare because they were strong and sturdy, so I had never had need for footwear. Finally, covering my hands and my forearms up to my elbows, a pair of soft brown leather gloves that had the tip of each finger cut so my fingertips could be free.

Then Ethan pulled back his cowl and ran towards me. I lifted him up in my chest and he put his arms around my neck, hiding his face into my chest fur.

"It's OK now, I'm here. Just calm down" I muttered in a warm tone. He whimpered softly.

"I have been worried all this time that we couldn't make it here or have a place to live in… I'm so relieved." He murmured so only I could hear him. I smiled and caressed the top of his head gently.

"I was worried just like you, little champ, but you can see we did make it and things are finally going to get better for us from now on!" I whispered back before putting him down on the floor. Then I realized that we weren't alone, which made me feel a little embarrassed, and I lifted my head to scan the faces that were scanning us as well.

The five champions sitting to the left were looking at me with different types of looks, but all had a curiosity look in common. I could recognize all of them because I watched their profiles in the sight sphere yesterday. They were Miss Fortune, Karma, Olaf, Viktor and finally Trundle.

I could recognize three of the four champions in what I supposed was my team: Vayne, was the woman that I saw walking through the corridor yesterday; next to her sat Shen and Caitlyn. And the last champion still had his mouth opened: he was a big polar bear with armor, his electric blue eyes met mine. We held eye contact until a few seconds later he seemed to snap back into reality and he swiftly put his gaze on the floor. I was confused. Did I have something in between my teeth?

Finally, Miss Fortune spoke "Well, well, well, what do we have here? What are your names, newcomers?" she asked, smirking.

"I'm Marcus, the Blazing Heart, a pleasure to meet you all. He's my younger brother, Ethan." I introduced us.

"Greetings. A pleasure to meet your acquaintance..." Ethan barely muttered, a quite embarrassed.

"D'awww, he's such a cute little cub! It's so adorable!" Miss Fortune commented. Karma let out a soft chuckle.

Ethan was blushing, but he tried to look serious and spoke proudly "I am not a cub, I'm fourteen!" Then he looked down and muttered "I'm just not as tall as I should be..." He looked up again at the woman. "...and if you keep annoying me, my brother will knock you out in a second, loser!" he said with a challenging confident grin.

_"What am I going to do with him?"_I sighed in my thoughts.

Miss Fortune and Vayne giggled at the comment "Don't get too cocky, Ethan" said the amused Bounty Hunter. "You've just arrived here and haven't seen anything yet." She smirked, confidence in her voice.

**Vayne's POV**

Then the rest of the summoners started entering the room and everyone went silent, Marcus sat down next to Volibear -I think I could see the bear sitting up nervously in his own seat, but maybe it was just my imagination-, Ethan put his cowl over his head and stood by Marcus side, facing the other team. "_Wait, __there are__ nine summoners, five by their team's side and by our side there's my summoner, Shen's, Caitlyn's and Volibear's. Where's Marcus' summoner?"_ I thought. I saw Marcus patting Ethan's shoulder and he took a step forward next to the rest of our summoners. I couldn't believe my eyes. _"Could this kid be a summoner? He's __under aged__, there's no way __the League would allow that__."_

When all the summoners were in their positions, the announcer walked in and stood in the middle of the summoners. Then she spoke in a calm voice:

"The practice match is about to begin. As per usual, I am going to call the champions and they will approach to their respective summoners to be sent to the Summoner's Rift." She made a short pause, then continued. "Marcus, the Blazing Heart." She glared at the red wolf.

Marcus stood and my previous doubts were cleared up. He took a step towards his younger brother, who extended a paw which Marcus took looking into Ethan's eyes. Then Marcus dissipated in a thick blue cloud of smoke and light. Then everyone else, one by one.

Each team member was summoned at the base of each side. "Okay everyone," I spoke in a firm tone, "as this is the first match for Marcus, he will go to the top lane along with Shen" They stared at each other and nodded "Volibear, can you go to the jungle?" He nodded without saying a word. I turned to my right to face the sheriff of Piltover. "Caitlyn, can you handle bottom lane?" I asked her. "I will handle mid lane."

"No problem." She replied in a confident tone.

"Okay, oh, and Marcus, this match will be also useful to figure out which role suits you best." He nodded. "Alright then, let's move." And then all of us headed to our respective lanes.

**END OF CHAPTER ONE**


	2. Chapter II: 'Fireworks'

**Flame and Thunder**

**NOTE: **"people talking"

_ "people's thoughts"_

_ people talking by telepathy_

Chapter II: "Fireworks"

**Marcus' POV**

Summoner's Rift was a rather chilly battlefield to my displeasure. The cold breeze slightly bothered me but I shrugged it off thinking it was still more comfortable than the frozen Freljord lands. The damp grass felt like a soft wet pillow beneath my hind paws. Shen walked next to me, silent. I didn't think it was an uncomfortable silence, though; I could sense his serene aura.

We eventually arrived at where our outer blue tower was standing. He turned to look at me and broke the silence.

"Marcus, do you know what the objective of the match is?" he questioned.

"Yes, we have to fight in our lanes trying to kill or push away the enemies so we can destroy their towers and inhibitors, and eventually destroy the enemy nexus." I explained briefly.

He nodded his masked head. "One more thing." he added. "Are you experienced in close combat or do you prefer fighting from afar?" he asked. I just grinned and tightened gloves. I pointed with my index and middle finger upwards and closed my eyes, focusing on the energy flowing inside me. An orange flame appeared, floating above my fingertips, quivering in the smooth chilly breeze. Then I moved my arm slowly and, with a swift motion, threw the flame like a projectile, which landed on a rock.

"I see." Shen spoke again. "So you are a fire evoker." he muttered, getting lost in his thoughts for a moment. "You mentioned you come from Ionia, is that correct?" The ninja asked me.

"That is right." I replied.

"Then we come from the same homeland, my friend. Don't take this as an offence, please, but I had no knowledge that your species existed before, aside from rumours I read in books. Do you mind sharing a little bit of your origins?" I could tell he talked as respectfully as possible.

"No, I don't mind. As far as I'm concerned, my species has always inhabited the western jungles of Ionia, living in the same village for millennia. We acknowledged the outside world, but our culture is based in protection of our traditions and the spiritual magic that flows in our land, so we never let ourselves nor the village be seen. Then the Noxian Invasion happened… I had to flee from there with my brother. Nowadays, I can't be sure if we're the only ones left." I told him trying my best to conceal the grief in my voice.

"I apologise for asking such a personal question. The Noxian Invasion hurt all of us, and I share your sorrow and grief." He said sincerely.

"Thanks, Shen. I appreciate it." I sighed.

_Brother, can you hear me?_ Suddenly I heard Ethan's voice inside my head.

_Yes, Ethan. What's up?_ I replied telepathically.

_The minions have just spawned. They will be in your lane shortly. Are you ready?_ His voice seemed a little tense. I didn't want him to be worried about me, so I cheerfully replied:

_I'm always ready. Let's do this, Ethan!_

_Yes, brother!_

The minions of both teams arrived at the middle of the lane and started battling. I felt an even cooler breeze brush my body fur; it was a different breeze, it announced something powerful was coming . I narrowed my eyes, looking around me and charged one flame in each hand, prepared for anything that would come.

A big figure approached behind the battalion of purple dressed minions. It trotted onto its hind legs and its left arm. In its right arm it held a menacing frozen club. Trundle, the Troll King. He stood onto his hind legs and leaned on the frozen stick.

"C'mon, bow, new blood! Then entertain me!" he cackled loudly.

"Ha! I will melt you before you can touch me!" I taunted smirking.

Shen came to stand next to me, and used telepathy to talk to me.

_Marcus, I will block Trundle's attacks since he and I fight in close distance. Meanwhile, you try to harass him with your flames from afar._

_OK._ I replied.

For three minutes Trundle kept trying to get close to me but Shen was impeding him to do that, threatening him with his sword. Then, the troll would swing at Shen with his club but the ninja blocked the attack with a force field of spiritual energy that his sword carried. Each time he got close I threw at him flame after flame, leaving black bruises on his blue skin and getting a grumble of pain from Trundle in response. Although he was trying to hide it, Shen seemed exhausted and in pain; Trundle had hit him several times with his heavy club for the last minutes. In contrast to my partner, the troll king seemed to recover a bit of his energy when one of our minions was slain. It was a difficult situation, Trundle could focus on killing Shen if he noticed his state and I would be left alone with the troll.

**Volibear's POV**

Caitlyn, Vayne and I were standing in the camp of the Red Brambleback. When it spawned, they helped me injury it and left heading to their lanes. I used smite to end it, gaining the red buff. Then I headed to the ancient golem camp. I wanted to gank top lane as soon as possible to help Marcus and Shen since they seemed to have trouble confronting Trundle. I was fighting against the large stone golem when I heard a young voice in my head.

_Volibear. That's your name, right?_ I jumped in surprise, because I'd never heard that champion voice before. _I'm talking to you, polar bear. Well, I'm actually communicating telepathically._ The voice spoke again.

_I know telepathy between champions exists, but how the h__ell_ _are you?_ I asked.

_I'm Ethan, my brother Marcus is fighting in the top lane. He and Shen need your help, Volibear._ He said. I thought that only champions could speak telepathically during matches. How was he able to do it? Anyway, I got the message.

_I know, and __I'm on my way, Ethan._ I replied.

_Volibear, get close to Marcus before going for Trundle! _Ethan said.

_OK_. I answered, not understanding what was the purpose of that, but Ethan knew Marcus so I relied on him.

I ran through the river and hid in the bush, waiting for my cue. I noticed Shen's fatigue while he stood breathing heavily. I could see Trundle farming minions to heal himself, smashing the little blue creatures with that menacing frozen club.

Then my gaze fixed on Marcus while he was 'farming'. He moved nimbly side-stepping while throwing amber flames to deal the last hit to the purple minions, as if he was performing a dance with his graceful moves. He spun around while throwing more flames with a skill that could be only compared to Draven's. His dark red fur and golden eyes glistened in the flying light of the flames. I couldn't take my eyes off the hypnotic moves of his whole body.

Then Trundle began to charge against Shen who dashed across the troll to taunt him. I snapped out of my trance and dropped to all fours charging quickly towards Marcus, who noticed me and took a step towards me. Then something I wasn't expecting happened. He smiled warmly reaching his hand to my cheek as he gave me a smooth stroke, my eyes met his golden pearls and we locked our gazes. I was in shock, paralyzed by the warm touch, feeling a wave of strength and heat running over my body as he touched my cheek.

"Now get that troll, Volibear!" Marcus said as he moved his hand away from my cheek; he looked serious and focused again in the fight but his words were also encouraging.

My body somehow could move again and I charged towards Trundle, who dealt the final smash on Shen's skull, leaving his lifeless body on the battleground. After a few seconds, the corpse disappeared covered in light because he was respawning at our base.

The voice of the female announcer echoed across the rift.

"An ally has been slain." She said.

While the troll had struggled to free himself of Shen, I approached him and flung him behind me, sensing that the strength Marcus gave me empowered my rolling thunder.

"Marcus, now!" I shouted at the wolf as I began slashing and brawling with Trundle.

He was ready. Marcus ran towards the confused troll while his fur started to glow in a beautiful ruby red. Now he was shooting his flames with alarming speed, like a machine gun. After a few seconds, his fur returned to normal and he was panting a little. Then before the troll, who was whining in pain after the beating, could even respond, he spread his arms, shooting fire from both.

"Say 'cheese', Troll King!" he smirked as the streams of fire met around the troll's head leaving burns and blinding the blue monster. He screamed in pain.

Then, he aimed to the ground and lava began to form in his hands. He shot it hitting the blinded troll and leaving embers in its path. Trundle was shouting in pain when his eyesight returned and he started to run away from Marcus but the embers beneath his feet made it difficult for him to run. Meanwhile, Marcus was throwing flames at the troll's injured body.

I started pursuing him to make sure he couldn't escape but Trundle turned around a moment as he raised his fist in the air and a pillar of hard ice came out of the earth just in front of me. Fortunately, I reacted and stopped before I hit it. Trundle hit the ground with his club and a big area around him got covered with ice. He ran with ease over it but I couldn't catch up to him quite as fast.

He was now too far and I couldn't follow him any more because the purple turret blocked my way. Trundle had escaped and Shen had died in vain. I stood and turned around with shame in my face to look at Marcus, but he seemed to stay calm and confident. He knelt onto one knee and aimed with his arms up at the dark sky. I looked puzzled at his confident eyes.

**Vayne's POV**

I was trying to farm while Viktor tried to divide my body in two with his laser beam. Olaf got away from the lane into their jungle after his unsuccessful gank.

A colorful flash in the sky caught Viktor's attention as well as mine. I looked up at the sky in the top lane direction and saw a rain of green, red, yellow and white fire balls tracing a colorful arc through the air. The fire balls began to land one after another, and I heard the announcer's voice saying:

"An enemy has been slain."

No one in this team that I know could do that, so that must have been the Marcus.

_Good job, 'Fireworks'._ I said telepathically and then returned to my fight against the machine herald.

Our team eventually won the match, being an example of teamwork. Marcus was very skilful in handling those flames like bolts, so he was perfect ly suited for the marksman role in the bot lane.

When we returned to the invocation room, Ethan ran into his brother's embrace.

"Whoa brother! You were the best!" he yelled with happiness. Shen patted Marcus' shoulder in approval and Caitlyn nodded her head smiling at Marcus.

"You did well, 'Fireworks'" she said before leaving the room with Shen. Marcus tilted his head, seemingly confused by the nickname. The other team waved as they came out from the room. The summoners left the room as well as the announcer.

"Good game." Miss Fortune smirked before leaving.

Only Marcus, Ethan, Volibear and I were still in there.

"Wow… that was impressive, Marcus." Volibear said, in a slightly less grumpy voice than usual.

"Hey, 'Fireworks'... we're going out this afternoon for a walk around the nearest town. I have business there, but a couple of friends..." I sighed "wanted to come along turning it into a 'fun' trip, so I might as well invite you too. You deserve a little reward." I smirked, crossing my arms. "What do you say?" I asked.

"Sure, that sounds great!" He grinned.

"Ethan, it's lunch time already so you should be heading to your dining room."

"Oh right. See you later brother!" Ethan nodded and waved to us before leaving.

"I'm out as well" I started walking towards the curtains of the exit door and lifted my hand as a wave. Out of the corner of my eye I noticed Volibear was staring at Marcus with a slight blush in his face. Marcus turned around to look at Volibear and he instantly stopped blushing as his gaze drifted away in another direction.

I rolled my eyes and left the room.

**Marcus' POV**

"_Why are they calling me 'Fireworks'?"_ I tilted my head to the side. I turned again to glare at Volibear.

"Volibear, shall we go to the Cantina? I'm starving!" I chuckled.

"I'm hungry, too. Let's go." the bear nodded. We left the invocation room heading to the Cantina.

The smell of hot food was overwhelming inside the Cantina. At that hour the bar was crowded to its limit and the champions sitting at the tables were chatting, eating, laughing and some, grunting. The bar was in the center of the room. The bartender was working non-stop making coffee and serving dishes. As Volibear and I walked further in between the tables I noticed some looks analysing me. Then my ears tilted toward the direction of a loud shout.

"Hey 'Fireworks', Voli! Over here." Miss Fortune was waving her right hand in the air while she cupped the other around her mouth to increase the volume; Vayne, Ahri and Lulu were sitting with her. When she saw that we had heard her, she pointed two empty chairs in their table.

"'Voli'?" I raised an eyebrow and grinned amused, turning around to look at Volibear, whose face turned red and huffed.

"She j-just likes to put nicknames to everyone," he mumbled, staring at the floor.

"I see," I chuckled to myself.

I started walking towards them but I stopped and turned around to find him standing there. "Are you going to stand there all day or are you coming with me?" He snapped out of it and approached the table with me.

I sat next to Lulu as Volibear sat to my right. To his right was Vayne, next to her sat Ahri and Miss Fortune sat between her and Lulu.

"Now this is quite a handsome wolf. I'm Ahri~" Ahri purred in a smooth voice tracing a playful grin with her lips. That took me by surprise, so the only thing I managed to do was react with a hello, a little smile and scratched the back of my head, embarrassed. Besides the flirting, I had barely noticed Ahri's glare of scrutiny darting in my direction after we'd stopped talking. I feared I knew what she was thinking.

"Pleased to meet you!" Lulu said smiling next to me.

"Likewise." I smiled back.

"We were about to order something for lunch, so we thought maybe you didn't mind joining us." Vayne said.

"Yeah, I'm hungry. Thanks for reserving us seats. Now what do they cook here besides sandwiches? It's the only thing I've tried so far." I said eager to eat something.

I ordered spaghetti, Volibear went for a big steak and the girls ordered different kinds of salads except Miss Fortune, who ordered an even bigger steak than Voli's. When everyone finished their plate, we started chatting.

"Tell us, 'Fireworks'," Miss Fortune said "why did you and your brother join the League?" All the looks turned to me with curiosity.

I lowered my voice staring down at my empty plate "We lived in Ionia. We're homeless since our village was destroyed and our parents disappeared when the Noxian Invasion happened. I was sixteen and Ethan was still a cub. We had to flee from home to survive, and since most of Ionia was unsafe for the time being, we sailed to Piltover where I started working for a year to earn money. We had to leave Piltover due to the fact that we couldn't keep paying our foster home. Then we kept travelling to the north and arrived to the Freljord lands. We met a hospitable married couple that lived in a lonely house at the feet of the mountains, and they gladly offered us a warm bed and a plate of soup during our stay. I trained every day in the snow to strengthen my body and my abilities. I _had_ to grow stronger, for myself, and to protect Ethan. One day, when I was training in my usual place, the husband of the couple came and told me that in the center of Valoran there was the Institute of War, a place which celebrated the League of Legends. He said maybe with my power they would offer us a home and I could earn money fighting in it. Then, I decided that Ethan and I could try our luck here. And here we are, hopefully not homeless any more." I looked up at their faces as I went silent. They were also silent, still absorbing the information. "I'm sorry, I guess I went on for a while here." I chuckled apologetically.

Finally, Vayne broke the silence: "I know what it's like to lose your parents so suddenly, Marcus." She put a hand on my shoulder and gave me a soft reaffirming squeeze. "I'm sure things will get better for you and Ethan" she said softly.

"Thanks." I replied. That left me a little impressed, I thought she was the cold-hearted kind. Turns out she might be warmer than she seems when she wants. I was glad to have seen that. In the meantime, Ahri's gaze was still fixated on me.

"I want to know why Ethan is your summoner. He's underage, right?" Miss Fortune said.

"Oh, that's because he has some kind of mysterious inborn psychic abilities and he's able to use telepathy to communicate."

"Whoa! I've got to meet such a fascinating person!" Lulu exclaimed, amazed.

"Listen," Vayne said to the girls "Marcus, Ethan and Volibear are joining me on my way to the town now. Does anyone still want to come?"

"I'm so sorry, I'll be busy today with the fans," Ahri said "maybe another day." She giggled. After this point her sneak-glancing at me stopped.

"I'm too tired from the match, so I'm gonna have to pass and go rest. You guys enjoy yourselves, though!" Miss Fortune said smiling as she and Ahri stood up, waved and left the Cantina.

"I want to go with you! Plus I have to buy some things in the market." Lulu smiled.

"Well, everyone" Vayne stood up "let's meet at th-" A deep cough between us interrupted her.

"When did I say I was coming along?" Volibear grumbled staring at Vayne. I placed my hand on his shoulder.

"Come on, Volibear! The more, the merrier. Please?" I looked at him with puppy eyes. He gasped at the contact of my hand and when he turned to look at me a faint pink stroke appeared beneath his eyes.

"I-I guess I can come along… I have nothing to do today anyway." he stuttered, now his face all red as his gaze was locked on the floor.

"Yes! Sweet!" I wanted my new teammate to come along, it would be nice to make some friends.

"Then, as I was saying, let's meet at the Institute's gates in ten minutes. See you there." Vayne said with her usual serious and diligent voice, which always managed to sound calm. Lulu and Volibear followed her toward the exit. I stood up and headed to my room to wash my hands and use the bathroom.

Ten minutes later, all five had arrived to the meeting spot. Vayne had removed her cape and gauntlets and instead she wore a casual red jacket. Lulu wore a shorter hat than the usual, and Volibear wasn't wearing his armor but a black T-shirt and beige shorts. They all looked very nice. Ethan wore a green jacket and jeans and I was wearing my usual outfit since it was comfortable at all times.

"OK, let's go." Vayne said and started walking, leading the group with Lulu by her side. I walked behind them, Ethan was next to me wagging his tail with excitement. Volibear was the last, walking behind us, lost in his thoughts. I wanted him to come along because I wanted him to have a good time; that was my objective for that afternoon. He was too grumpy and serious all the time, and I would do anything to make him smile, I promised myself.

**END OF CHAPTER II**

**Next chapter: "A night walk"**


	3. Chapter III: A Night Walk

**Flame and Thunder**

**NOTE: **"People talking"

"_People's thoughts"_

_People talking by telepathy or dreaming_

Chapter III: "A Night Walk"

**Volibear's POV**

It was a sunny afternoon in September. The Sun reigned the clear sky with pride. The smooth cool breeze brushed my fur as I took a deep breath. Pure fresh air mixed with the sweet scent of some types of flowers entered my nostrils. It felt nice. I thought that maybe going out for a walk in the town wouldn't be that bad. We had left the garden's gate behind five minutes ago and the first houses of the town were already showing up on the horizon. We were following a straight path of dirt that cracked the grassy fields around us in two halves. I closed my eyes for a moment as I walked and focused on the sounds I heard. Wild birds singing cheerfully, Ethan humming an unknown tune to me and a chatty Lulu endlessly talking with Vayne. But I didn't hear Marcus' voice. I opened my eyes as I lifted my head up and saw him walking in front of me, glaring down at the ground in contemplative silence.

Maybe he was bothered because today I had been curt towards him. Each time he had looked at me and had spoken happily, just trying to be friendly, I avoided eye contact and limited to answer dryly. That is just how I've always been, though. Still, I showed no sign of gratitude towards his kind treatment to me, and he deserved it. What kind of noble warrior bear am I? The feeling of guilt strangled me. I had to think of something. I gathered all the courage I could and sped up my pace until I was next to him. He seemed to notice and lifted his head up to stare at me with an innocent look in his golden eyes. His stunning golden eyes. I had never seen a piece of gold or a jewel shine with that intensity.

"_Wait, did I just think that about him?"_

"What's up, Volibear?" he asked. I shook my head and sighed deeply as I looked into his eyes. This time I kept eye contact so he knew that I meant what I was about to say.

"Er... Marcus, you have been so nice to me this morning and, um... Thank you, honestly." I managed to mutter so that only he could hear it. His face lit up more, if that was even possible, as he traced the warmest grin I've ever seen. When I realized that his look was still fixed on mine I had to look away embarrassed. Why did his glance make me so nervous? Brr!

"You're welcome," he replied. "But don't make a big deal out of it. I'm always trying to be nice to people." He scratched the back of his head as he grinned.

I shook my head. "That's why I should be nice back. It's only fair." I said staring at the earth.

"I understand." I heard him say as we walked and I kept staring down. We went silent for another couple of minutes until we arrived to our destination.

"This is Argil·la1," Vayne said, catching the attention of the group as we walked into the town. It was the first time I visited it; I didn't go out of the Institute very often. The dirt path was replaced by smooth cobblestone. Short, reddish clay houses were gathered in a disorganized way all over the place. In the center of that chaos of buildings was a small plaza with a fountain. On the left of the square stood a taller building with a thin clock tower. I guessed it was the town hall. We stopped beside the fountain as we saw a very crowded street descending from the square, opposite to the town hall.

"That's the market," Vayne pointed out looking in the direction of that street. "Today is the weekly arrival of many foreign merchants with exotic products; that's why it's so crowded," she explained.

"Let's take a look at the market first and then we can decide what to do!" Lulu suggested excited. Vayne declined because she had to go take care of her business. The others agreed to go to the market and I shrugged and followed along.

We dove into the ocean of busy people that filled the market. The long narrow street consisted of _many_ stalls that formed a corridor in the middle. There were all sorts of stores. The scents of the crowd mixed with the smells that came from some stalls. Sweet perfumes, spices, food, and the not so pleasant smells of some people. The merchants shouted announcing their goods as the costumers approached the stalls. I took a glance at the exotic products that were exposed: strange substances in small flasks, charms in many shapes and details; beautiful artisan ceramic works, as well as many other unique goods and food.

**Marcus' POV**

I had never seen a street so crowded or noisy, not even in Piltover! Come to think of it, my village was always so peaceful and our time in the Freljord's mountains as well, this was so different… My nostrils picked up many familiar scents and even more new ones. It was a sensorial festival for my nose. As the four of us pushed our way through the crowd I held Ethan's hand in mine for fear that he would get lost. I was looking from side to side at the stalls all the while, feasting my eyes with the impressive display of colors and shapes of the exotic objects as well as the inviting food. My eyes met with one of the merchants'. Extremely dark red eyes, like dry blood. I couldn't see the rest of their face because a cowl covered their head and some bandages wrapped around the face hid everything below the eyes. There wasn't white in their eyes, they were fully dark red. So that meant they couldn't be human, or at least, not entirely. What bothered me is I had the feeling I'd seen those eyes somewhere, but I couldn't remember. Ethan pulled my hand making me snap out of it. "Brother, we will get lost if we lose track of Lulu and Volibear, come on!"

I looked at him. "I'm sorry boy, I got distracted. Let's go." I replied. Before moving forward, I glanced back one last time to check on the familiar stranger, but they weren't staring at me anymore because they were busy with a customer.

Five minutes later, we finally reached the end of the street, popping out of the mass of busy loud people. We ended up in a park with some common stores at the edges of it, wooden benches sprinkled here and there above the sandy terrain and trees surrounding us.

"I'm going to go shopping, you three can explore Argil·la freely." Lulu said grinning. "Just meet me and Vayne in an hour at the square; as the town hall tower is visible from any spot of the town, you can't get lost." She explained. "See you later, guys! Have fun!" Lulu waved as she walked back again into the market street.

"You too!" Ethan shouted smiling. It seems he liked her.

"Wanna take a look around this part of the town?" I suggested.

"Yes!" Ethan said enthusiastically as his emerald eyes shone.

"Sure," Volibear replied.

Ethan trotted happily before Volibear and me. We were silent, lost in our own thoughts. In my case, my thoughts were back at the market, trying to remember what I could about those eyes. I shook the thought off my head when Ethan suddenly yelled.

"An ice cream store! Brother, can I have an ice cream, please? I haven't had one in years!" He said with pleading eyes as he grabbed my wrist.

"Alright, Ethan. In fact, why don't we look for a place to sit and eat ice cream all together?" I suggested. Ethan nodded eagerly. Volibear was OK with the idea, so we ordered three ice-cream cones (my treat) and sat on a bench. The sweet cream was delicious, I couldn't remember the last time I had tasted one of those. Ethan was the first to finish his and he asked me for another.

"Alright, but this will be the last ice cream you eat this week!" I said. He nodded and I gave him the money. Ethan rushed to the shop and a moment later was walking back, looking bright as ever. When he was near us, he suddenly tripped over his feet and almost fell to the floor. He stared at his hand and he saw that his ice cream wasn't there anymore. Guess where it landed?

In the middle of my forehead. I heard a deep snort next to me. Volibear put a hand on his smiling muzzle to hold in his laughter but when I looked at him frowning with an annoyed expression of 'What do you find so fucking hilarious?' on my face, he burst into a loud guffaw as Ethan laughed along.

"You look like Soraka!" Volibear laughed as a tear formed in his eye. I stood up and walked to the ice cream shop where the clerk lent me a damp towel to clean my face. I walked back to the bench and sat between Volibear and Ethan. Volibear was still snickering. _"Well, I didn't need to make a plan __to make him smile or laugh __after all!"_ I thought as I couldn't hide a satisfied grin. His smile was so... warm and friendly now. I leaned my head closer to his while staring at his grinning face. I raised an eyebrow as my smirk turned into one of amusement.

"I thought you couldn't smile, you boring bear," I teased him.

"How couldn't I? That horn suited you perfectly." He teased back with a feigned silly smirk on his muzzle.

"How dare you!" I said exaggerating an offended tone. "Someday I'll take revenge for that, 'Mr. Chuckles!'" I said lifting my hand and playfully poked his nose with the tip of my finger.

Ethan narrowed his eyes looking in the direction of the clock tower.

"Brother, an hour has passed. We should head back to the square," he said.

"_Wow, time flies,"_ I thought as I looked at the clock too. "Then, let's go." I smiled as we began walking towards the square.

Vayne and Lulu were already chatting on a bench when we arrived at the square.

"How did it go?" Vayne asked.

"It was fun. I'll have to come back when the merchants come again and try to find something I like." I said.

"Also, I tripped and my ice cream cone fell on his forehead!" Ethan giggled. Volibear snorted again.

"Hey, you two! Cut it out!" I pointed at them with my finger as they snickered simultaneously.

"I guess you had fun!" Lulu giggled.

"Well, shall we go back to the Institute?" Vayne asked. There was a collective 'yes' and the group left the town.

(After dinner. Marcus's room was filled with the full moon dim light)

I was lying on my bed holding the sight sphere. I was watching matches, studying the other champions' strategies. Eventually, my thoughts began to wander.

"_Volibear was acting strangely on the way back from the town. He went all silent again and didn't talk to me. Well, neither did I because __Lulu__ kept me busy telling me all about Argila. He didn't even show up later in the Cantina for dinner. __What's going on with him? Not like I can ask him directly like that, I barely know him__."_

I sighed, put the sphere back on the desk and crossed my hands behind my head. I closed my eyes and my thoughts went blurry like fog.

**. . .**

_I was in my home. Ethan was holding my hand firmly with his own trembling one, staring at me with a terrified look on his face. The house shook with each thundering sound of an explosion outside. I looked through the window: the sky had disappeared behind a large cloud of dust and smoke; all I saw in my village was devastation, clouds of toxic smoke and corpses spread all over the village. I felt a painful stab in my chest when I recognized the lifeless figures of my friends, lying on the ground, scattered. Suddenly, mom and dad ran into the room._

"_Marcus, escape and take Ethan __along __with you. We must stay and fight." __D__ad said, __firmly__. __I could hear slight fear in his tone._

"_Promise us that you will protect your brother." __M__om said, tears running down her cheeks as she hugged us tightly._

"_But I want to go __and fight __with you!" I __yelled and __began to cry._

"_No, you can't, Marcus. __You and Ethan must live.__" __S__he said __as__ her __usually silky__ voice crack__ed__._

"_The magic charm I gave you will protect you as well as the people you love. Now, escape, __there's no time!__" dad __exclaimed, his voice cracking as well__._

_They led us to the limits of the village where a carriage awaited. I got in it as dad lifted Ethan and placed him beside me. Mom hugged us again and had only strength to say "I will always love you". Then the carriage began to move as we were separated from our parents. They stared at us one last time before turning around and then disappeared in a cloud of dust._

"_Moooom! __Daaaad!__" I cried desperately stretching an arm in __t__he__i__r direction but it was in vain._

**. . .**

I gasped loudly.

I woke up panting as my heartbeat was racing crazily. "It's just that nightmare again, well… that memory, rather." I told myself to relax. I turned my head towards the window and took a glance outside. It was late at night. The full moon spread out a pale blanket of light all over the wide gardens. I didn't feel like sleeping at that moment and taking a walk around the gardens seemed like it'd feel nice, so since I was still dressed because I had fallen asleep, I decided to go for it.

Only the rustle of leaves and the slightest murmur of water could be heard. The gentle cool wind of the night caressed my fur with its invisible hands. It seemed as if the time had slowed down there. The gardens were immense... They surrounded all the buildings of the institute. It was a giant green work of art. Arcs of leaves, shaped bushes, flowers, small ponds, streams and bridges over them. I walked into the gardens, letting myself be engulfed by the calm of Nature at night. I felt nice just by standing on a bridge, above a singing stream of water. The thoughts of my nightmare had already faded out, but I didn't really want to leave so soon.

"What are you doing here at this hour?" A deep voice suddenly broke the quiet atmosphere.

"Aah! Who, what?!" I blurted out startled, turning around. It was Volibear. He was wearing the same outfit he wore this afternoon. His white fur glistened like silver under the moonlight. "What are YOU doing here?" I asked.

He shook his head, "I asked first." I thought for a moment and answered his question:

"I've had a nightmare."

"Oh." He looked at the ground. "I see… Uh… Want to talk about it?"

I thought about it again. I nodded. We took a stroll around the gardens.

"...That is quite traumatic. Are you sure you are OK?" He asked after I finished telling him about it.

"Yes, it's been a long time. I've healed. The truth is..." I paused a moment. "I don't really know if they died. They might still be alive somewhere, but I haven't had the money to sail back to Ionia since then. If I fight here for a while, I can save up to return and search for them..." I sighed. I wanted to change the subject. "Now tell me, what were you doing here?" I asked him. I looked at his face again after not doing it the whole time we had been walking. He seemed to be doubting for a moment.

"Um, well... when I'm nervous and can't sleep I come here," he spoke as if he was choosing every word cautiously. "It's very calm and it helps me clear my thoughts," he paused for a moment seeming to think a lot. "You know that the ranked season starts next month, right?"

"I've been told so at dinner tonight."

"Since I've lived here, I'm afraid I've turned soft and weak. The commodities of this life made me forget for a while the warrior spirit of my tribe. I fear I will not do well enough this next season.

"_Was that __the whole truth__?"_ I thought, dubious. There was hesitation in his electric blue eyes. "I'm sure you will do fine. I even got an idea. We can train together when we have free time to help you out, what do you say?" I offered, smiling.

"No, no. That won't be necessary. I will be fine on my own." He rushed to reply, looking to the ground.

I lowered my ears. "Fine then… My offer will always hold, just so you know. I'd like to be of help." I scratched the back of my neck.

"...I will keep it in mind." He muttered. Why did he tell me his problem and then refuse aid?

We kept walking until we came out of the gardens to the pale light of the full moon again. I stopped as I faced him.

"Thanks for the company, Volibear. It was nice." I said.

"You're welcome, Marcus," he paused "I… thank you too, for listening." He looked at me briefly. His expression was plagued with emotions. A little happiness and relief, but so much confusion, pain and hesitation.

I moved my hand to his arm and gave him a soft pat and a squeeze there. He gasped softly at the contact, just like last time. "It will all be OK. Take care of yourself, Volibear." I said with a reassuring tone.

"I'm going back to my room and try to sleep." He said.

"Me too."

No more words, we entered the main building and each headed to his own room.

"_I'm sure he will tell me whatever is haunting in his mind. I'll just give him time."_ I thought while I lied down.

Time passed in the Institute of War. The vivid green colors of the summer ceded their place to majestic brown, red and orange hues as fall arrived. The gardens were an incredibly beautiful sight. Honey, garnet, cinnamon and terracotta hues painted the leaves of the trees as they started falling, dancing in the air. Ethan would hide in the foliage and it posed a challenge finding him. I usually hung out playing card games with Ethan in _my_ room, since my brother's room was always a mess. In the Cantina, eating together with Volibear, Vayne and others became a habit. The other champions that usually sat with us were Lulu, Nasus, Shyvana and Xin Zhao.

Vayne was mostly distant, but I sensed her empathy towards me and how that made her act less cold when talking to me. Lulu was cheerful and clever, always making interesting contributions to the conversations. Nasus was the wisest person I'd ever met. He was very kind. Shyvana, well... she could compete with Ethan to see who was the most hyperactive and enthusiastic. And I bet she would win. However, she was short tempered so I made sure to not to make her angry. Xin Zhao was friendly and a funny man, although he liked to jokingly pick on Shyvana and often we had to sooth her before she burnt the cafeteria.

When fall came, the ranked season came along. All the teams were already listed on the bulletin board in the Great Hall. Obviously, I hadn't been chosen to captain since no one had informed me. In the morning, I went to see the lists with Volibear.

We arrived to the wall where the bulletin board hung. We scanned the lists searching for our names when I spotted mine in one of the sheets. And his. And Vayne's as the team captain. _"Wait, why would Vayne put two AD__s__ (she and I) on the same team?"_ The other two members of the team were Ryze and Sona. I stretched an arm and pointed the sheet with a finger and Volibear looked at it. He gave me a puzzled look.

"What in the…?" He growled.

"I know, I just don't know what's in her mind," I said shrugging.

He turned around and began scanning the room. Then he raised his arm pointing at a bench where Vayne sat with her legs crossed. Volibear and I exchanged looks and headed to the bench.

"Hey." She greeted us with a nod of her head, calm as ever.

"Start explaining yourself." Volibear said frowning.

**END OF CHAPTER III**

**Next chapter: "The first ranked"**

1.- The name of the town 'Argil·la' is the Catalonian term for 'clay'. It is pronounced "ar 'ge lla" like "R" "G" then "lla" from "gorilla".


	4. Chapter IV: The First Ranked, Part One

**Disclaimer: I do not own any League of Legends character, those belong to Riot Games.**

****I do own my OC's, so don't use them in other stories without my permission or claim them as yours.****

**IMPORTANT: I have published a collection of short stories and autobiographies of each OC in the form of a new story! They add to the universe and will make the experience of Flame and Thunder more immersive, so go check them out!**

**Flame and Thunder**

**NOTE:** "People talking"

"_People's thoughts"_

_People talking by telepathy or dreaming_

Chapter IV: "The First Ranked": Part One

**Vayne's POV**

Marcus and Volibear came from the crowd that surrounded the bulletin board; their puzzled and somewhat angry looks were drilling me as they approached. I already knew they would react like this. I sighed internally.

"Hey. Have you seen the lists?" I asked calmly.

"Start explaining yourself," Volibear grunted, frowning.

Marcus put a hand on Volibear's shoulder, which made the bear gasp and suddenly become relaxed. Good, I wouldn't have wanted to deal with that.

I spoke up.

"Listen, this is the reason why I made up the team as it is. Marcus, you'll go bot with Sona, like a normal bot lane composition. Volibear, you'll jungle. Ryze will handle mid lane. As you're our tank," I said to Volibear, "I'll go top in order to harass early game most of the melee top-laners that we'll probably have to face. Besides, Sona is very good early game; same goes for your ganks. Then the rest of the team except for Sona scales so well in late; the game is basically ours."

They looked at each other with a scared expression on their faces.

"I'll be fine!" I exclaimed, rolling my eyes. I stood up and headed to the champion's rooms, but I stopped after taking a few steps. "Lunch together later, before the game starts. Sounds good?" I made a miraculous effort of socialization for the sake of lifting the team's spirits up before the ranked match. They should be grateful.

Volibear looked away, still not fully trusting my strategy. "Fine."

"Yup." Replied the red lupine.

"See you later, then." I waved a hand in the air after turning around and walking away.

**Volibear's POV**

When Vayne was out of sight, Marcus turned to look at me with those golden pearls. "Hey, it's great we are on the same team again!" he said with a big smile.

"Um, yeah," I smiled in an attempt to cover up my fluster.

"This month will be full of action! I can't wait to fight new opponents!" Marcus said as he energetically gestured throwing invisible flames to an invisible target. His blazing smile never left his face. His eyes were intense, like set ablaze. I saw his muscles stretch and relax with each movement, showing great strength and agility. _"It…__ seems__ he works out, huh..."_ I thought while staring at them, oblivious to the fact that he stopped a couple of seconds ago.

"Oh, I forgot! I was going to go see Ethan. He's gonna kill me!" He said snickering. I snapped out of my thoughts and responded with a nonsensical grunt and flustered nodding. "See you at lunch, 'Voli'!" He said as he walked away, waved and winked an eye at me, then turned around and headed to the stairs.

I stood there, paralyzed, my face hot like a furnace. _"Did he call me 'Voli'...?"_

**Marcus' POV**

I was making my way upstairs to the summoners' rooms' floor. When I climbed the last of the steps, I felt a hand grasping my forearm and tugging. I turned around and to my surprise, it was Ahri. Her expression didn't seem her usual nonchalant, flirty one. She looked somewhat annoyed.

"We need to talk." She said, leaning her back against a wall and crossing her arms under her chest.

I blinked, pretending to be confused, although inside I knew what she meant. "Okay, about what?" I replied.

"Why don't you tell people what you really are?" I felt my heart skip a beat.

"I don't know what you're talking about, Ahri." I faked a grin.

"Oh, come on, dumb wolf! It's not like it's a big deal or anything! Why would you hide it? I am a Vastaya, too. So what? Everybody knows what Vastayans look like." Her angry voice echoed slightly across the hallway.

"Shh, keep it down, would you!? I whispered. She rolled her eyes. "Um… okay, sorry. So… aren't humans trying to gain control of the magic that floods in our homelands and specially, inside us, here?" I asked while tightening my leather gloves, still dubious.

The fox-like woman sighed, seemingly having calmed down. "No. There are rules here, and if broken, one is submitted to a punishment equal in magnitude to the rule they've broken. No one has ever tried to harm a Vastayan here, don't worry about it."

My glance fell to the floor. I sighed, feeling a little bit relieved. "Listen, my tribe..." I lifted my head to look at her "...was the only one with people of our kind. Our culture was based on swearing we would protect the secrets of our spiritual magic, besides not telling anyone about where we lived. I hope you understand me now. Specially since me and my brother are the most likely the only ones left that hold knowledge and control of that magic."

Ahri nodded. "I do. In fact, I know someone you may relate to a lot. You two should have a chat sometime." She giggled, back to her usual self. "Her name is Xayah. Well, I'm done here. I hope from now on you won't keep any more secrets, especially from me..." She winked at me and I shuddered.

"_Xayah.." _I made sure to remember that name, she left me full of curiosity. Nevertheless, I shoved those thoughts aside for the moment and went to Ethan's room to hang out with him for the rest of the morning.

(In the Cantina, lunch time. Volibear, Marcus, Lulu, Xin Zhao, Shyvana and Nasus were already sitting at the table.)

The Cantina was crowded, as it usually was by this time of the day. From my seat I could see some champions I had gotten along with among the other tables such as Miss Fortune, Alistar, Udyr, Zac and Karma. Volibear was sitting next to me and he seemed a little nervous.

"Is everything okay, Voli?" I asked him. He stared at me with a puzzled look.

"Why do you call me 'Voli'? He asked.

"You are my best friend. Can't I give you a nickname?" I responded, chuckling. He blushed lightly and looked away, scratching the back of his head.

"Yeah, I... suppose you can." He muttered softly so only I could hear it. The others were too busy talking anyways.

"I hope I'm not late" a familiar female voice said from behind us. We turned around to see Vayne standing there, dressed in her casual red jacket and green pants. She as she sat between Lulu and me. As we were all sitting we ordered lunch.

I didn't talk very much during the whole meal, just nodded or shook my head and made "hmm"s of understanding. As it was usual, Xin Zhao bugged Shyvana while she tried her best not to burst. Vayne was listening to Lulu's noisy chatter; the first seemed to have gotten used to it and enjoyed the conversation. I listened along with Volibear to Nasus, who was telling us how his life was like when he lived in Shurima.

Eventually, Vayne raised her voice to talk to all of us.

"Tomorrow is the grand day. We open the season with the first match and we have to impress." She put a hand on my shoulder and smirked. "I'm sure the new champion will live up to the expectations of a ranked, right?"

"Of course! I'm eager to start fighting!" I said with a determined look and a confident grin.

"That's what I call fire in someone's eyes..." Xin Zhao said, astonished.

"Keep this in mind: always have fun out there!" Lulu cheered.

"If the chance of a fight against you happens… may the pleasure be mine," Nasus smiled warmly to me.

"I'll use all of my power to fight you as a worthy opponent, Marcus." Shyvana grinned, flexing an arm.

"Likewise, everyone." I responded smiling and nodding.

I looked at Voli who turned his face to stare at me as well.

"Let's put our greatest effort into the battlefield." He showed an honest toothy grin. I felt my heart pounding faster for a few seconds at that sight. It made me happy to see him smile like that.

"I gotta go get some things ready for tomorrow. Our match is the first one of the morning," Vayne said as she stood up. "Later." she waved at us as she turned around and left the Cantina.

Volibear and I stood at the same time by chance and walked out of the bar after we said goodbye to our friends.

When we were out of the Cantina I faced Voli.

"Well, see you at dinner, Voli." I smiled warmly.

"Yeah, until then." He smiled back softly. His electric blue eyes glowed beautifully.

We headed to our respective rooms.

Dinner was a normal meal that night. We talked about the same things we usually did when we were eating together. I was the first to finish my food, and since I wanted to be alone with my thoughts because I was still nervous, I stood up and said goodbye to all of them.

I went into my room and closed the door behind me. Then I walked into the bathroom and closed the door. I turned the knob of the shower to the hot water side and the transparent element started to spray from the shower head, cold at first, but slowly becoming warm. I removed my clothes and carefully placed my pendant on a low stool. Then I walked into the shower. The hot drops splashed on my head and shoulders and formed streams that ran down my chest and back, legs, feet, and ended in the drain. The water soaked my fur as I used my hands to clean it, stroking it gently. Steam started to fill the bathroom. I took a bottle of soap from a little case in one of the walls of the shower and squeezed it as the thick liquid was poured on my palm. I began rubbing my head, then my chest, arms and the rest of my body. The citrus smell of the soap mixed with hot steam invaded my nostrils. Then I stepped under the shower head and let the water take the soap off my body. The renewing sensation I felt in that moment was priceless. I stepped out of the shower and dried myself with a towel. When my fur was only a little damp so it could finish drying with natural air, I wrapped the towel around my waist, grabbed my charm and placed it around my neck and walked out of the bathroom. There was a knock at the door.

"Who is it?" I asked without opening.

"Marcus?" a female voice said, "It's me, Shyvana. Can I come in or are you busy?"

I opened the door smiling lightly. "I'm not busy, I just showered. Sure, come in." I stood out of the way to let her in.

She stayed at the door frame. "Marcus! Y-you have a t-towel...! I-I mean, you d-don't have c-clothes on?!" She screamed blushing.

I rolled my eyes. "I have a towel, and it won't fall from my waist, I'm sure about it." I said calmly as I made a gesture with my hand pointing her to come in. "It's late. What did you come for?" I questioned politely.

"Well..." she scratched behind her head and walked in, "I just wondered if you were nervous about tomorrow. You know, the ranked matches and that stuff. I came to talk a little to shake my own nerves off. My match goes after yours, you know." She explained. Poor girl, we were in the same spot.

"Actually, I'm a little nervous too, but I can handle it." I answered. I sat on my bed and patted the bed next to me, but she shook her head. "What do you want to talk about?"

"It'll be short. Have you studied your next opponents, Marcus? You're going to face Draven tomorrow. He's one of the best marksmen in the League." She said with a look of concern in her face.

**END OF CHAPTER IV: Part One**

**Next Chapter: Chapter IV: "The First Ranked: Part Two"**


	5. Chapter IV: The First Ranked, Part Two

**Disclaimer: I do not own any League of Legends character, those belong to ****Riot Games.**

****I do own my OC's, so don't use them in other stories without my permission or claim them as yours.****

**Flame and Thunder**

**NOTE:** "People talking"

"_People's thoughts"_

_People talking by telepathy or dreaming_

Chapter IV: "The First Ranked": Part Two

**Marcus' POV**

I gave a nonchalant grin to the half-dragon. "Don't worry, Shyvana. I'll be fine. I've trained for years and I've studied my opponents. Except that Draven, but we'll face him in the second match, in the afternoon. I'll take your advice and will be careful, OK?" I reassured her.

She still looked a little worried, but nodded, a little less stressed. "Well, Marcus, I can only wish you luck." She flashed a smile. "Take care." I waved goodbye and the half-dragon turned around and left the room, closing the door. I unwrapped the towel that covered my lower body and put on my shorts and gloves. I was relieved she didn't notice the scars in my arms, which my gloves cover when I put them on. _"I need to be more careful..."_ I thought. After turning off the lights I lied on my bed. I grabbed the sight sphere and proceeded to look up Draven's info. Eventually, my thoughts wandered around the events of the past day, until they became blurry and vague, leading me to my sleep.

The next morning I woke up early. I had plenty of time before the match, so I ate my breakfast quickly and went to train at the Gardens. The Sun was about to show up in the horizon, so the sky wore a pale blue dress. A fresh morning breeze blew through the trees. The wind carried several scents of the dawn: pollen, dew, damp earth and... a familiar smell. My ears stiffened in order to prick up my hearing and I scanned my surroundings with my gaze. I made way through the vegetation, following the trail of smell. The autumn withered leaves rustled beneath my feet as I kept walking. When I sensed I was closer since the smell was stronger, I slowed down to approach more carefully.

I saw him standing in front of a bush. He had his hands in his waist, before him, so I couldn't see what he was doing. I stopped a few feet away. Volibear turned his head when he heard my footsteps and blushed. With wide eyes, the bear let out a grunt of surprise and coughed with difficulty, his cheeks still red.

"What are you doing, Voli?" I couldn't hold back a snicker, seeing the Thunder's Roar all flustered. My tail swayed slowly as I threw at him a look of amusement. The polar bear turned around abruptly and I could see what he had been doing: the bush behind him bore blueberries. He had been eating some since in the corner of his lips, a big dark blue stain was visible. Volibear cleared his throat and glared at me with an embarrassed and somewhat annoyed look.

"I like the b-blueberries that grow in the Gardens... These are better than the ones in the Cantina, so sometimes I get up early and come here to have breakfast." He scoffed, with his face red.

"_I caught you red-handed, or rather, blue-mouthed." _I thought to myself, amused.

Then his face turned even more red, looking like a tomato, and he extended his hand towards me. He was holding some of the fruits.

"D-Do you want to try them…?" Volibear stammered, glaring at me with those embarrassed and beautiful electric blue eyes.

"Well, why not? Thank you." I said as I took the fruits of his shaking hand and tried them. "They are sweet... Hmm... you were right." I smiled, licking my lips. His gaze darted downwards to the ground, still embarrassed, but I caught a glimpse of a small grin. Then I noticed the sunlight got stronger and thought the time for the match had come. "Oh, no! I forgot about the match! We are going to be la-"

"Don't worry." He cut me, suddenly having calmed down. "We have time to calmly walk back to the Institute. The match starts in twenty minutes, we will be in the summoning room in five." He explained crossing his arms, a neutral tone of voice and expression marked his face.

I relaxed. "Alright, then we should get going." He nodded in response.

We made our way out of the Gardens, facing the imposing as always Institute of War. During the walk, we didn't exchange a word, but sneaky looks flew between us.

**Vayne's POV**

I was leaning on a column of the entrance of the summoning room, Ryze and Sona were standing beside me. The blue mage tapped his foot on the ground, his arms crossed, as his eternal impatient expression and look pierced the two champions that walked towards us.

They arrived to the stairs and Marcus smiled to me. Volibear just acknowledged us with eye contact. Sona nodded to them smiling warmly, while Ryze sighed.

"Sorry if we're late." The Vastayan apologized politely. Sona shook her head softly and kept smiling. I remained silent. They weren't technically late; the announcer hadn't arrived yet, so I didn't feel like scolding anybody. These two seemed to have gotten along, though. Damn it, Marcus even got along with _me_. He's skilled at making people around him feel comfortable. I couldn't avoid smirking a little at that thought.

"Let's come in, the enemy team is waiting already." Ryze said, turning around and entering the room through the black curtains.

I shrugged looking at the rest and stood up, entering after the mage.

**Marcus' POV**

I entered the room the last, after Volibear. Inside the room, the dim blue light created a ghostly atmosphere. All the summoners, including Ethan were at their positions. The enemy team was there as well. Cho'Gath, Soraka, Ashe, Master Yi and Veigar were out opponents. I had studied them all and I felt ready. My body was getting warmer by the minute from excitement and nervousness.

I sat on my spot and the announcer walked in a minute later. He said the same as the last time except for the practice match part:

"The first match of Season Eight is about to begin. I'm going to proceed to call each champion as always. Good luck." And one by one, we were summoned in the Rift.

"Brr, chilly as always..." I grumbled as I headed to the bottom lane with Sona. We started on the red side of the rift, so Sona and I went to help Volibear with the Blue Sentinel. When I left to go back to my lane, I felt as if he stared at me while he finished the monster. Perhaps it was my imagination.

In lane, I focused on farming as well as dodging the volleys of frozen arrows Ashe threw towards me. From time to time I blinded Ashe to deny her some creeps, while Sona tried injuring them with magic music and kept me healed. Soraka was doing her job well, healing Ashe when we hit her and silencing us preventing our engages sometimes.

"_Brother! Can you hear me? Vayne is doing very well against Cho'Gath, with some help from Volibear, even though that monster has become enormous __after eating some minions__! On the other side, Ryze isn't having much luck facing Veigar, the evil __Yordle__ mage __keeps stunning him__ and has killed him twice. If you push your lane enough, both of you can go mid to stop him."_ I heard Ethan's voice telling me. _"Sure thing. Thank you, Ethan."_ I heard a positive giggle in response. It seemed my brother told Sona too, since she helped me push fast. We went together to our base to regenerate. Then, we headed to midlane, and hid in the bush of the river. Ryze noticed us, not showing any sign of it in order that Veigar would remain unaware and confident.

**Volibear's POV**

I soon joined my botlane, making my way along the river. My quiet steps resonated softly on the water as I approached them and bent beside Marcus, my eyes focused on Veigar's and Ryze's position. Then, I felt Marcus turned his head to me, and I glanced back at him. Again, those eyes… it was like staring into the brightest Sun. The gleam of those golden spheres made me feel so safe. I drew a brief smile with my mouth, which was responded by a grin from him. He then placed his hand on my forearm, gripping it gently. He was transmitting his passive to me; which felt, sincerely, like a powerful vitamin. His warmth was so comforting, it gave me security and made me focus better. I nodded at him, still staring at those eyes. My heart started to pound faster. I thought it was because we had to gank soon and I was nervous. Still, I felt my cheeks heat up, which I hoped he wouldn't notice and looked straight at the lane.

It was the moment, since Veigar had stunned Ryze and he was charging his Dark Matter. I didn't hesitate, dropping to all fours and charging forward. Our mage snapped out of the stun and was quick enough to trap Veigar in the Runic Prison, which gave me enough time to reach him, plus Sona gave me some movement speed. I threw Veigar above my shoulders and I heard how my team mates ended his life. We took this opportunity to destroy the midlane turret and slay the Dragon. Master Yi came trying to steal it, but Sona and Ryze stopped him, I heard Sona's ultimate and Ryze killed him, the man's cry of pain was heard last after the sounds of battle.

Throughout the game, I ganked Ryze a couple more times and Veigar couldn't do much but lose his lane. I went once again top as well. There, Cho'Gath surprised Vayne, landing a good Rupture on her while she was invisible, and silenced her and ate her in an instant. I was used to these kind of horrifying things in my job, but Cho'Gath's ultimate was one of these things you never get used to witness. I felt my stomach whirling for a second. With my ultimate ability and a powerful bite I finished him, since his lane was pushed and I pulled him over my body into the turret range at the start of the fight.

At the end, we won, mainly carried by Marcus and Sona. His graceful and fatal moves plus his area of effect ultimate ability caused enormous amounts of damage in the team fights. I have to admit that sometimes I stared for a few seconds at his muscled body move and fighting style. What was it about him that I couldn't stop myself from watching his powerful but at the same time careful and precise moves?

After being teleported back to the summoning room we respectfully thanked the enemy team for the game. We needed to win only one more game to pass to the next division. As I walked out of the room, I felt a pat on my back.

"Well played, Voli." Marcus said grinning as he walked beside me. The Vastayan red wolf seemed to be in high spirits.

"Thanks!" I unconsciously exclaimed. I felt happy, too. It was a familiar but at the same time, foreign feeling. "Did you have fun?"

He nodded and gave a toothy, handsome smile. "Mostly because I could behold your amazing skills." He snickered.

"I… did nothing compared to you moved, Marcus." I simply replied while inside, my heart picked up the pace.

His eyes widened for a moment, and I think I could barely see a faint pink blush appear on his cheeks for a moment. "Stop being so humble, your ganks were flawless as Ethan has told me. I might ask you to train together one of these days, if that is okay with your schedule. I really mean it." He said winking an eye.

I was caught off guard by that, not expecting him wanting to train with me. I looked down, nervous. "Yeah, it is completely fine with me..." I murmured.

"Now then, we should go have a break and then lunch. This afternoon is the second match. Oh! Lulu and Nasus are playing right now! Wanna go watch the match?" He asked enthusiastically.

I smiled. "Of course!" _"__It's nice__ spending time with __Marcus..__."_ I thought.

**END OF CHAPTER IV**

**Next issue: Chapter V "Impulses"**


	6. Chapter V: Impulses

**Flame and Thunder**

**Disclaimer: I do not own any League of Legends character, those belong to Riot Games.**

****I do own my OCs, so don't use them in other stories without my permission or claim them as yours.****

* * *

**Author notes: Quick update on life. I took more time with this one because studying for food science is sucking up my time, so please be patient with the updates. Thank you very much as always for reading my fanfic and please leave some feedback, as always! **

* * *

**NOTE:** "People talking"

"_People's thoughts"_

_People talking by telepathy or dreaming_

**Chapter V: "Impulses"**

**Marcus' POV**

(Marcus alone in his room, after lunch.)

"_Only ten minutes until the match starts… I should head downstairs."_ I thought. I looked at myself in the mirror one last time. I had too many things in my head. The upcoming match, the person named Xayah... The thought of facing 'Draven' haunted my head since Shyvana described him in such a scary way. As I opened the door and made my way to the Summoning Room, I was nervous, tremendously thrilled. I could feel my fur standing up and my legs almost failing to react with each step. I eventually arrived to the last stair of the Great Hall and spotted my team at the doorway of the Summoning Room. Then, I carried myself towards them.

They all looked at me. Vayne acknowledged me with a brief lifting of her head, Ryze nodded at me. It seemed I had gained his trust. Sona smiled warmly and Volibear grinned ever so slightly. We entered in the dark room. As always, everyone was there, except for the announcer. I sat on my place and scanned the enemy team. Rumble, to my surprise, was already piloting his mech; so eager. Next to him, on the bench, sat Lee Sin, Karma, Thresh, and finally, Draven. His eyes and smug grin pierced me as he let out a low chuckle, but none of us said anything.

The announcer entered a couple minutes after I sat on my place. I sighed to release tension before being summoned into the Rift.

**Volibear's POV**

We all headed to our lanes, I gave a last quick glance back to check on Marcus, who was staring at the floor thoughtful as he walked slowly to bot lane. I turned my head to the camp of the Brambleback and awaited them.

Ten minutes in, I had ganked and assisted Ryze on slaying Karma but unfortunately we couldn't get Rumble in top lane. Lee Sin appeared in my jungle a couple minutes ago and despite Ryze came to assist me, I was too low to fight so we retreated. I didn't hear the announcer a single time mention the bot lane. I thought they both would be playing safe. I made my way into the dragon side of the river and killed the snail crab to get vision, then I crouched in the river bush, waiting as Draven and Thresh began to push the lane. I heard their voices then.

"My new prey is scared, eh? Hahahaha! Come on, let Draven have a little fun with you!" Draven laughed as he farmed the minions while Thresh zoned Marcus and Sona. She seemed a bit injured, probably for defending Marcus.

The wolf's face was focused in lane, thankfully he was too smart to fall into Draven's taunts. I saw how his teeth clenched every time the executioner spoke. Then, both Sona and Marcus gave me a quick glance. I prepared myself, waiting for the right moment… Thresh threw his hook but Marcus dodged it. Now.

I dashed on all fours towards Draven, Sona quickly stunned them and Marcus started burning them with flames, then he used his power to launch the meteors. I was right a few meters away from Draven, shortening the distance between us when Thresh snapped out of the stun and pushed me away with the sharp scythe, making one deep cut on my side and several scratches. Draven ran away, he was almost dead but Marcus couldn't finish him since he was panting, on his knee, after using his ultimate. Sona and I finished killing Thresh. We walked up to Marcus. I crouched beside him and then I noticed all the cuts he had over his chest and arms. They didn't look too bad since Sona had been healing him, but he was definitely having a hard time in lane. I closed my eyes for a second, cursing that damned smug idiot, then I felt a pat on my thigh and I opened my eyes again. He opened his eyes slightly and smiled as bright as he could, as if pretending he was all fine.

"Thanks for the gank." He simply said, his warm, comforting voice was deteriorated from the exhaustion.

"It's my job." I replied smiling briefly back, still concerned about his wounds. Without a word, I lifted him in my arms -damn, he was a heavy big wolf- and slowly carried him to our base accompanied by Sona.. He did not oppose resistance and closed his eyes. He looked really tired…

I left him on the floor of the base, watching as his wounds healed slowly. I also healed and then he got up. He smiled at me and in that moment, seeing his bright handsome face again, I couldn't hide my blush. He turned around to readjust his gloves and brush some dust off him, not seeming to have noticed, and spoke.

"It seems Ryze is winning his lane. Maybe you should help out our friend Vayne a bit." I nodded.

_Volibear, I need some help killing this… whatever a Yordle is, ugh!_ We heard Vayne say with disgust by telepathy. The three of us laughed. Sona and Marcus looked at each other and headed back to their lane. I watched them for a while, my eyes nailed on Marcus' back. I snapped out of it and went back into the jungle.

After getting done with the camps I headed to top lane, where Vayne was under her turret and Rumble threatened with diving. I knew what was going to happen. When the Yordle got under the turret I simply crossed my arms and enjoyed the show. Vayne used her ultimate and tumbled sideways becoming invisible, then impaled Rumble with Condemn against the turret which was devastating the machine. Vayne shot barrages of bolts gracefully and soon the Yordle was slain, disappearing after a couple seconds, being teleported to base. I walked in.

"You just love watching and doing nothing, don't you?" She scolded me, but I noticed a lighthearted tone of joke.

"Ooh, I love letting you do all the work." I teased her back.

"Alright, let's take their turret down." She commanded, we both destroyed the building in no time. Meanwhile, Ryze roamed to the bot lane and together they expelled Thresh and Draven out of the lane, so they three left to kill the dragon, but Lee Sin appeared. They managed to kill the dragon with a coordinated burst, but they couldn't kill the monk, who dashed away with a ward of vision after failing to steal the winged beast's buff. Our team also took bot lane turret, while Karma took ours at mid lane.

The match went on without many more events, only Rumble died again to Vayne and me. I was heading to bot since I heard they were having some trouble. Marcus looked exhausted again, I saw how Draven threw an axe towards him that made a cut on his side, spilling some blood on the ground beneath. Marcus winced and growled as the axe flew back to the executioner. I clenched my teeth, wanting to go in and rip his throat apart, but I knew in the back of my head that I had to wait for a good moment. Then, I saw the smug grin widen, Draven's eyes gleaming in blood lust as he lifted his arms backwards, ready to launch both spinning axes towards the Vastaya. Sona got hooked by thresh which impeded her healing powers and I knew I had to do something. I dashed in Marcus' direction as Draven threw his axes towards him. I pushed the wolf out of the way with a last stretch, and then, I felt them. I felt the whirling axes digging into my back, blood splattering around. I looked at Marcus, who was staring in terror at me, but Sona healed him and made him react, he got up and walked away while staring back into my eyes. It was the right thing to do because they were too exhausted to fight back, they had to leave me behind.

"_At least you're safe..."_ I thought, next to that, my vision blurred and I felt chains wrap around me and a last hit. Then, I stopped feeling anything, blacking out.

I woke up at base, lying on the ground. I didn't know how long I had been dead nor how the match was going. I sat up and then I felt a hand on my shoulder. It was Sona, recovering from some wounds. I looked up at her, she smiled warmly at me and pointed towards the mid lane. I could see all the way to the end of it, my team was taking the enemy nexus. I smiled relieved.

(Back in the Summoning Room)

I saw Marcus having a brief talk with Karma, they were smiling gently and it seemed they got along. Ethan was right behind his brother, then he noticed me and waved, smiling briefly. I waved back with an awkward smile, I still wasn't used to be this friendly. Only us were in there, everybody else had already left. Eventually, Karma left after saying a polite goodbye to the wolf which he responded in the same way. Then, Marcus turned to me and approached. I stared nervously into his eyes, but soon my eyes searched for anywhere else around.

"Volibear." He said. "Why did you do that for me back in the bot lane? That wasn't worth it, you had a bounty on you from all the previous successful ganks." He said serious, with a tone of concern in his voice.

"..." I struggled inside to find the right words. I wish I knew why I did that. It was an impulse of protecting him instead of a rational action...

"Because you're my team mate. Plus, the tank has to protect the carry, right?" The words came out clumsily and pitifully as I chuckled at the end of the sentence.

"...You don't need to sacrifice yourself for me, enough people already have." His voice became lower as he spoke. "...but thanks. See you later." He said with his head sunken before I could apologize. He walked past me and left the room, Ethan waved goodbye to me behind him.

I remember him telling us that his parents stayed to fight at his village, commanding him to leave to protect himself and his brother. My reckless sacrifice must have reminded him of that moment and guilt started spreading within me. My head dropped down along with my spirits, my eyes lost in the floor. I sighed heavily and made my way to my room, with the feeling of having disappointed Marcus.

**END OF CHAPTER V**

**Next: Chapter VI "The Harrowing"**

**Chapter 6 is going to introduce a completely new character and I'm very excited about it! The plot is going to really thicken, stay tuned!**


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